Color, 1997, 93 mins. 22 secs.
Directed by Scott Reynolds
Starring Paolo Rotondo, Rebecca Hobbs, Jennifer Ward-Leland, Roy Ward
Unearthed Films (Blu-ray) (US R0 HD), Trimark (DVD) (US R1 NTSC) /
WS (1.78:1) (16:9)
A remarkable fusion 
of psychological serial killer horror with arty supernatural thrills, The Ugly is a New Zealand import that was denied 
the attention it deserved thanks to an unworkable title and indifferent distribution. Released during an onslaught of direct-to-video horror, it managed to build up a modest amount of word of mouth but still deserves much more many years after its release.
Dr. Karen Schumaker (Hobbs), a psychiatrist currently riding the wave of a media frenzy after freeing a noted serial killer, is called to an institution at the request of its most notorious inmate, Simon Cartwright (Rotondo). The head of the institute (Ward, in a role tailor made for Jeffrey Combs) immediately reveals his disdain for Karen but begrudgingly allows her to question his patient. Through a disturbing mixture of flashbacks, shock cuts, and hallucinations, Simon gradually unveils a nonlinear history of what made him the killer he is today. After verbal and physical beatings at the hands of his unstable mother (Ward-Leland), grade school bullies, and his coworkers, Simon succumbed to the evil influence of "the ugly," his dark alter ego which forces him to kill at random to silence the voices within his head. Not 
surprisingly, Simon also turns out to 
be more clever and manipulative than he appears, and Karen finds herself pulled deeper and deeper into his seductive mania and ultimately must question the reality of what she sees around her.
While the premise may seem to tread on established serial killer hits like Seven, Silence of the Lambs, and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, The Ugly has quite a few nifty original surprises tucked up its sleeve. Most obviously, the film's startling use of color gives it a texture and haunting resonance unlike any other in recent memory; the blood spilled during the violent killings is black as pitch, dreamlike red lighting appears from nowhere, and eerie pools of blue often appear in the background to preclude the ghostly appearances of Simon's tormentors. The film also manipulates its audience through skillful use of sound, both through a subtly modulated soundtrack and, in one memorable sequence, alternating between deafening club music and complete silence to reflect two different characters' points of view. The two central performances are also extremely strong, with the supporting cast also making a powerful impression in more fragmented bits. Most amazingly, this was director Scott Reynolds' first feature film; he only went on to do two more features, the exceptional 1998 thriller Heaven and the more traditional but worthwhile When Strangers Appear from 2001, both of which are sadly quite 
challenging to see 
now.
After doing the film festival rounds and playing in New Zealand, The Ugly hit VHS in several markets including Japan and a handful of European countries in 1997. Trimark's American DVD was a nice surprise for viewers who had no chance to see it before; the label was notorious for skimping on anamorphic transfers at the time, but they did this one right with a pretty solid presentation for the time along with a very effective English 2.0 surround track. The unimpressive U.S. video trailer is also included.
For some reason the film dropped completely out of sight for almost three decades after that, eventually getting a much-deserved special edition on Blu-ray from Unearthed Films featuring a drastically improved new 4K restoration from the 35mm interpositive. A lot of extra image info is visible here, especially at the bottom, with considerable more detail and more accurate, vivid colors including the restoration of a spooky blue tinge to several scenes that Reynolds called out at the time in multiple interviews. The DTS-HD MA English options here include the familiar 2.0 stereo and a very dynamic, sometimes flat-out scary 4.0 mix with optional English SDH or standard English subtitles. An audio commentary with Rotondo and Hobbs moderated by yours truly obviously can't be assessed here, 
but hopefully you'll find it enjoyable as we cover their careers and many memories from the shoot. In a very welcome gesture, the isolated score is included here in a DTS-HD MA 2.0 option; interestingly some of the tracks vary a bit here from what was in the 
final cut, giving you an idea of how it was originally spotted. And in a nice related development, the unreleased album by New Zealand band Crash that spawned the haunting song "Knife" heard in the red bar scene has finally been released and comes highly recommended.
Though Reynolds has been out of the public eye for a long time, he's represented here with two short thriller films, 1992's The M1nute (8m40s) and 1994's A Game with No Rules (16m55s), both starring Martin Csokas and showing off the stylish flair and narrative experimentation that would blossom in his feature films. The latter film in particular (which also features Ward-Leland) has several visual ideas that be developed in Reynolds' first two features. Also included is a 1997 Radio New Zealand Interview with Reynolds (18m3s) in conversation with Jonathan Dennis about his concept of the film's color schemes, his work on Heaven and future plans, the progression of the script after first writing it in 1991, the two films that impacted him most as a kid, and more. Then the visual essay "Getting To Know You: Dialogues with the Devil in The Ugly and Serial Killer Cinema" (19m23s) by Howard S. Berger surveys related killer cinema ranging from Psycho to Fantastic Voyage to The Boston Strangler and, of course, the film at hand here and contemporaries like the Hannibal Lecter thrillers. Plan your companion feature to watch with this one accordingly. Also included are a 3m37s photo and promotional gallery and the theatrical trailer in both 2.0 and 4.0 mix options, and the disc comes with in insert booklet featuring two appreciative pieces by Jason Jenkins (one updated from an essay for HorrorHound) about the film's finer points and some subtle touches to spot.
Unearthed (Blu-ray)
Trimark (DVD)
Updated review on April 20, 2026
